Step 4 of 5
Build your Canadian career
A PGWP lets you work anywhere. Permanent residence only counts some of that work. The difference is decided by what you actually do all day — and by a letter your employer writes at the end. Both are worth planning from your first week.
Only TEER 0–3 work counts
And it is decided by duties, not by job title
Canadian Experience Class counts experience in National Occupational Classification TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3. TEER 4 and 5 work does not count, however many hours you put in. What matters is whether the duties you performed match the lead statement and main duties of the NOC you claim — not what your business card said.
Source: Canadian Experience Class — canada.ca · checked
Two people with the same title can land on different TEER levels, and a generous-sounding title over routine duties is the version that fails. Before you accept an offer, read the NOC entry you expect to claim and ask whether your actual day would satisfy it.
Language minimums follow the TEER level. CEC needs CLB 7 on all four abilities for TEER 0 and 1 jobs, and CLB 5 for TEER 2 and 3. A TEER 1 job with a CLB 6 result is not a CEC application. Check your level →
Build the reference letter from day one
The single document that decides whether your experience is accepted is an employment reference letter. Ask what it must contain before you need it, because it is far harder to get from a manager who has left.
- Company letterhead, with the signatory's name, title and contact details.
- Your job title, and your start and end dates.
- Your main duties, written out. This is the part that gets matched to the NOC — bullet points that mirror the NOC's main duties, describing what you genuinely did.
- Hours per week, and your salary or hourly rate.
- Whether the role was full time or part time.
A letter that confirms only your dates and title is not enough. Without duties, an officer cannot verify the TEER level, and the experience may not be counted.
Getting past the software before a person reads it
Most mid-size and large Canadian employers filter applications through an applicant tracking system first. A resume that a human would like can still be discarded before anyone sees it.
- One column, no tables, no text boxes. Multi-column layouts are read out of order by many parsers.
- Standard section headings — Experience, Education, Skills. Creative headings do not get recognised.
- Mirror the posting's own words. If the posting says "accounts payable", write "accounts payable", not "AP processing".
- No photo, no date of birth, no marital status, no nationality. Canadian convention omits all of these, and including them can get a resume set aside.
- Save as .docx or a text-based PDF. A PDF exported as an image parses as an empty document.
Check your resume against one specific posting →
What to keep, from your first week
- Your signed offer letter and any contract amendments.
- Every pay stub, and each year's T4.
- A running note of your actual duties and when they changed — a promotion mid-role often means two NOC entries, not one.
- The full name, title and current email of the person who will sign your reference letter.
Hours worked while you were a full-time student still do not count, even if the job was TEER 0–3, and even if it was a paid co-op term. Your CEC clock effectively starts when your studies end. Step 5 shows how the counting works.